Glass-working



l :To all whom it may aannam; i 'l Np. E

onirica.

FRANK L. WADSWORTH, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, .ASSIGNOR TO BALL BROTHERS GLASS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 0F MUNCIE, INDIANA, A COR- Pom'ronor INDIANA.

Be it known that I, FRANK L'.y C. 'Weins WORTH, a citizenof the United States, residing atPittsburgh, inthe county of Alle- 4gheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement'in Glass-Working, of which the following is a specification.

' My invention relates in general to a method and means for automatically charging a series of mold receptacles with-molten vitreous material which 1s delivered thereto in a stream that flows directly from a tank or other large source of supply; and itre-. 4 lates particularly to the severing of the stream and the temporary'vsupport and shaping of the severed end during the interval of mold movement. The rimary objects 0f the improvements set orth in this specification are: first, the severing of the stream in such manner as to obtain a clean cut and symmetrically shaped end; second, the temporary support of this out end on non-conducting surfaces so as toavoid any substantial chilling of the molten material; third, the shaping, if desired, of the severed end of the non-conducting sup ort so as to avoid lap ing of portions o the molten stream and) so as to also bring it to such form as to more effectively charge vthe `next receiving mold; and, fourth; .the delivery, without distortion, ofthe freshly shaped end of the stream to the mold at any desired time in the cycle of the mold machine manipulations. Other objects of my improvements are the provision of improved mechanism for carrying out the various steps of the above'descrlbed procedure in a simple and effective manner, and the construction of the parts of the mechanism in such manner as to least aii'ect the temperature and the physi cal condition of the material being operated' upon.

form a part of the disclosurey of my improvements, Figure 1 represents in vertical cross section one form 4of `mechanism `adapted to practise my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan projection, onthe plane X X of Fig. 1 of the upper portion of the said mechanism; Fi 3 Ais a vertical sectional elevation to the le of the plane Y, Y of Fig.- 1; Fig). 4 .is a sectional plan .view ofthe parts of t e spcmcanon of Letters raient.

mech- GLASS-WORKING.

Patented Dec. 2 1919.

application inea Febrtary 23, 1915. serial Np. 9,878.

anism below the plane Z Z of Fig. 3; Fi s. 5 and 6 are partial sectional -views in t e plane of F ig. 1 vshowing the parts in different operatig positions; Fig. 7 is an elevation in paitial'section vat right angles to' the plane of Fig. 1.

In the construction illustratedy in the above' figures, 1 indicates'a flow block chamber or Adog house. extending out from vthe front of 'a melting tank or` other large receptacle for the reparation of the molten material 2. This ow block chamber is provided with an opening 3 preferably in the bottom, and below this opening is placed a metallic guard or iow ring 4f which Vserves to determine and control the size ofthe stream issuin from the opening. The volume of the ow per unit of time is regulated in partby the tem erature maintained in the flow block cham er, in part-by the vertically movable plug 5, and in part by 1 the temperature of the 'ng 4 which can be varied within quite wi e limits by varying the circulation of water or other fiuid adj acent the flow ring late 6. This latter plate is so constructed t at the flow ring 6 can be readily removed and replaced by another of di'erent size, whenit isdesired to vary the iiow to a greater degree than vis possible by joint regulation of the temperature of the chamber and the ring and by manipulation of the plug 5.

`Themechanism which I use for severing the stream of material flowing from the orice in the ring 4: is shown in vertical, cross section in Fig. 1 and in plan v iew in Fig. 2. It comprises two shear blades 7 and. 8, one of which is attached to the guide plate 9 that slides in ways on the top of frame 10,

and the other of which slides on ways inthe 9 .which iscarrled by the frame l0 (as best shown in Figs. 4 and 7). The bracket 13 is vbored to receive the xed stud 14 on which ismounted a segmental pinion .1.5V that engages with rack teeth 16 on the ,guide plate 9. This pinion also carries' a crank pin 17 Vwhich is connected by the link 18 with the shear blade- 8. 'The piston 12 is provided with an air duct 19 that leads through the bracket extension 13 and the stud 14 and communicates with a iuid'supplypipe 20 having a `three way valve 21 by means of which said ipe can be connected either with a .source o compressed air or with an'eX-.

haust conduit 22. v. K Just below the plane of the shear blades 8 and Q--Which are preferably arranged at a slight angle to the horizontal-I place two reciprocating support blocks 25 and 26, the first of which is attached to bars 27 27 4that slide ingrooves inthe side plates ofvmainvv frame 10,- and the second of which is lattached to a plate 28 that'carries a cylinder- 29 and is' provided with side lugs 30, 30 which'it between the'lower'edges of the bars 27, 27 and the upper edges of the guiding ooves for the said bars. The front ends of' thegbars 27, 27 are connected by across bar 31 which is coupled to the piston inthe cylinder 29 by the piston rod 33. -A pinion 34 is mounted on a second stud 35 in the xed bracket 13 and engages with two racks 36 and 37 that are secured'l respectively toone of the side bars 27 and to the cylinder 29. An air duct leads fromfthe inner face of the piston 32 through the piston rod v33 and the lcross' head 31 to an elongated port 38 in one of theside bars 27.

Thisv port .is in registry with the end of apipe 39 which contains a threeway valve 40 -by means of which the saidlpipe'can be put into communicationeither with a source of compressed air or with an Aexhaust conduit 22. ,l

The valves 21 and 40 are operated by the joint action of a spring 41 and cams 42 and 43, that are mounted on a shaft 44 driven by the table moving mechanism at such speed that the said shaft and 'cams vmake lone complete revolution in the interval between two successive mold movements. The receiving molds or receptacles-one of which is indicated at 45 yin Fig. 1 and another of which is indicated .by 46' in Fig.

-lr`(3s-are mounted on a suitable table and are brought in succession to the charging or filling position limmediately below the orifice 3 by any suitable mechanism.

The operation of -the above- )described mechanism is as follows A mold such as 45 is left in the charging .position-as indicated 1n Fig. l-until aI sufficient quantity of molten material has 'accumulated therein..

The valve 21 is then operated by the cam 42 to admit compressedair to the pipe 2O and the' cylinder 11. This moves the frame v`9 and its attached shear blade 7 to the left and .simultaneously imparts-through the action of the rack 16, crank pinion 15 and link 18-a reverse diferential movement to the shear blade 8. This movement continues until the two shear blades have been brought to thedotted line position of Fig. 5; in which position the stream vhas been severed and the cut end is-supported symmetrically in the Hat V-shaped pocket between the cutting edge of,the blade 8 and the top face of the blade 7. Immediately after the closing of the shear blades 7 "and 8,` the valve 40 is opened by the cam 43 to admit compressed air to the pipe 39 and the and closed shear vblades 8, 9. Simultaneously withv the closing of the. support blockspthe valve 21 isclosed by the joint action of the spring 41 and cam 42 so as to cut oil' the supply of compressed air from the cylinder 11 and place the latter in communication with the exhaust pipe22. This withdraws the air from the cylinder 11 and the external'pressure of the atmosphere Areturns the shear blade members to their ope-n position as Ashown in Figs. l, 2l and 5. This allows the freshly cut end of the severed stream-which has been only nio-- menta-rily held on the closed-shear blades, while the support blocks are being brought with the pocket or cavity 47. The molten material is allowed to flow directly into the closed pocket until the latter is either wholly or partially illed as shown in the full and dotted lines of Fig. 5, the length of time ot flow being governed principally by the form together as just described-to'fdrop down and character of the receiving molds 45, 46,

` etc. When thedesired quantity of material has accumulated in the support pocket 47 Athe valve 40 is, opened byv the jointaction of the spring 41 and cam 43., thus cutting. off the supply of compressed air from the pipe 39 and cylinder 29 and placing the latter in communication with the exhaust 22.l The enternal pressure of the atmosphere on the piston 32 then moves the parts quickly to open position as shown in Figs. 1 and 6 and permits the mass of molten glass that has accumulated in the support pocket 47 .to-

drop in a body into the bottom of the receiving mold.` If the quantity of glass thus delivered to the receiving receptacle is not sufficient, the moltenstream is allowed to flow directly from the orifice 3 down through the opened shear blades 7 and 8 and opened support. blocks 25 and 26-as shown in Fig.1'-until the required amount has accumulated in said receptacle and the shear blades are then closed to sever the stream i and initiate another cycle of operations like that above described.

the severed stream on thev cutting blades In some lines of manufacture'there are a number of advantages in interposing a secondary support element between the cut off knives and the receiving" molds and using this secondary element to notV only support the severed' end. ofthe "streaml during the' interval ofmold 'movement,but also incer-` tain cases to shape ,this end. into speciali ,form for delivering' to `the receiving receptacle. Thus, for.eXample, when the; molten materialmust be [flowed at avery high temperature, as Vis necessary with lcertain kinds of glass, the arrest ofthe flow by articles) or compressed carbon or soapstone.,

the action of surface'tension or by the use of an airor gas blast;vor the' support of themselves; is impractical lor highly undesirable, both because of the chillingrof the molten glass land because of the intense .heating of the metal shear blade surfaces.

In' the mode of operation above described, the glass rests on the shear blades 7 and 8 only for 'an exceedingly` brief interval and it will not, therefore, bematerially' chilled, nor will the cutting knives be sensibly heated, no matter how hi h the temperature ofl ing the so-called paste molds employed in the production of many forms of blown or even manganese steel; and these support blocks may alsoibe maintained at anyv desired temperature by the use of suitable electric heaters-#such as are indicatedat 48,

by sliding contacts onth ars 27 and frame 28. By the use of such a material, there will be obtained a socalled soaking action in the glass, which will obliterate' shear marks.

A further advantage of lusing separate and independent'elements for rst Severin the stream 'and then supporting the cut en and the oncoming portions while the molds are being moved-or for an even lon er interval, i desired-is that while the owing material is thus being supported it may also be shaped in a globular or ovoid mass-or to any similar form desred--which is `of such an outline as to'be deposited to best advantage in the bottom of the receiving receptacle. VThis preliminary shaping of the molten charge to a definite vpredetermined form before its delivery to the mold in which it is to receive its linal treatment,

may be of great advantage in cases where stream of one.

Still another advantage of using lan inglass a diicult and unsatisfactory termediate supporting element, which as just stated may also, if desired, be utilized as a preliminary shapingelement, is that the glass may, during its time of delivery,

be maintained inl ay hotter and more homo-l eneous condition. 1n the'heated non-conucting intermediate support than 1t can ,be in a receiving press mold which must necessarily be made of soft mold iron, maintained at relatively 'low temperature.l By the use ofthe intermediate support, the glass may be gathered `in'a compact globular massI of the requisite quantity to` charge the press mold in asingle lump (in milch thesame way as such molds are ycharged by hand gathering) instead of lilling it by the flowing stream in successive increments. This not only prevents a continuous chilling of the bottom portions of the glass by the iron surface'of the mold, but also prevents the lapping or folding over of the stream of molten material as it the stream of-glass is nearly as large in 'eliameter as the cavity itself; the consequence of this bein that the mass in the cup is gradually built up by the attening and lateral swelling of the lower end of the lowin stream as shown by the successive lines o Fig. 5 without any'folding over of the latter on itself. When the accumulated mass in the cavity 47 is droppedas aunit into the receiving mold, it flattens out on the bottom of that mold without any lapping of the material on itself.

y It will be obvious that the exact form of the intermediate support cavity can be varied to best adapt. the operation tothe preductionof articles of different shape and size. It is also obvious that various forms of cut oil' mechanisms may be used for the severance of the glass stream at the required intervals.` It is further apparent that the practice of my invention is in no way dependent upon' the use of any particular mold-shifting mechanism and lthat the cut ofi and intermediate support devices above described-or their mechanical equivalents -may, if desired, be used to charge a series of receiving receptacles which are brought to and removed from the Icharging position by hand.

to any .specific form of cutting device, or

iso

any particular form 4oi' intermediate support device, or any combination of these two devices with mold.y actuating mechanism... Nor do Iv desire to limit my claims f 5 t0 the use of an intermediate support of any particular material, although I pre- A fer to use a non-conducting lor thermally insulating substance- `to denote substance having a high heat resistivity) for this element; and I p refer also to maintainfthat portion' of the support which is in contact with the glass at 'theA highest possible working temperature. I believe that the use of separate and independentlylactuated elements or .in- 1 forVv severingy a flowingstrumentalities stream and then supporting and shaping'or gathering the severed en'd and the oncom-,

. ing portions of the stream into any desired form 1 preliminary to its delivery tov the inal forming mold or receptacle, is broadly' new and what I claim therefore 1s:

I claim as my invention: 1 l. In'an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a pair of shearing members between which a laterally-free stream of glassmay flow, a pair of cuporming members arranged below the shear members in position to receive the stream without lapping and formed to approximate the lower portions of a mold, the said mold, and means for successively actuating the shear members and cup-forming members whereby boththe shear mem-bers 'and the 35 cup-forming members may at times be laterally separated to permit direct flow of the glass stream and the shear members maybe 4*opened and closed to sever the stream and the cup members may be brought together 40 after the stream severance and held 'together subsequent to the opening ofV the shears.

2. In an apparatus of the class described,

n the combination of a pneumatic cylinder and coacting piston, means fOr holding one of' said members stationary, .a rack 'carried by one of said members, a plvoted segment carried by the other of said members and meshing with said rack, a pair offcoacting shear members, one of said shear members carried by the movable member of the cylinder and piston structure, and connections between. .the segment and the other shear blade.

3'. In amachine ofthfecl'ass described, a

cutting 'mechanism comprisingya support, a

segment pivoted on said support, a rackv meshing'with said segment, a cylinder and coacting piston, one carrying the rack and the other the segment, a-shear blade carried by the movable member of the cylinder and (using those termspinion connecting said racks.

piston structure, a coacting shear blade, and a connection between said last-mentioned shear blade and the segment.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair yof mating members formed to 'coperate with a stream of plastic material, supports for said members permitting' movement thereof toward and from the axis of such stream, a pneumatic:` cylinder carried by one of said members and a coacting piston carried by the"o'ther,land intermediate "connections between said members to cordinate the movements thereof.

v5..'Inan apparatus of the character described, a.pair of mating members formed to coperate with a stream of plastic material, supports for said members permitting movement thereof toward and from the axis of such stream, a pneumaticcylinder carried by one,of said members and a coacting piston carried by the other, a pair of racks carried by said members, and Va 6. In an apparatus of the class described,

. a pair of mating members forming together a stream-receiving cup, and heating' meansfor maintaining sald members at a desiree high ceiving said stream and preliminarily4 forming its lower end to correspond with low f portions of the mold without 1apping,and cutting means arranged between said streamreceiving means and the stream oriiice.

8.l In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with means` for 'establishingandl maintaining a flowingstream of glass, a mold arranged in the iowl line of said stream,4 means arranged between. the mold and thestream-establishlng means for receiving said stream and 'preliminarily forming its lower end to correspond with low portions pf thejmold without lapping, cutting means arranged-between said streamreceiving means andthe stream orifice, and heating means for maintaining Said preliminary forming means at a desired high temperature.

In'witne'ss whereof, I have hereunteset my hand' at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this 20th day of February, A. D. onethousand nine hundred and fifteen.

FRANK L. o. wADswoaTr-I.

Witnesses:

' WADsWoRTH,

B. FRITZ. 

